> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dovetail.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Create a source > Workspace admins create each source once for the whole workspace: connect the tool, choose datasets and an import period, and decide who can use it. Only workspace admins can create sources. Other users can [request one](#request-a-source). 02 Create Source A source connects Dovetail to a tool such as Zendesk, Gong, or Qualtrics and keeps importing its data. A workspace admin creates each source once for the whole workspace, and channels then add its datasets. [Learn more about Sources →](/help/sources) *** ## Before you start * **Check the integration’s docs.** Each integration’s documentation lists the roles and credentials you need in the tool, and what the source imports. Find it in the [integrations catalog](/integrations/home#sources). * **Choose the account to connect with.** The credentials you connect with are shared by the whole workspace. See [Shared credentials](#shared-credentials). * **Decide what to import.** Choose the datasets and how much history to bring in. See [Choose datasets](#choose-datasets) and [Import period](#import-period). * **Decide who can use the source.** By default, all users in the workspace can add its data to their channels. See [Manage source access](/help/sources/source-access). * **Decide whether to redact the data.** You can change this later, but a change applies only to data the source imports afterward. See [Redact data from sources](/help/blur-and-redact#redact-data-from-sources). * **Decide whether to create contacts automatically.** For integrations whose data includes customer email addresses, Dovetail can link each data point to a contact, and create the contact if it doesn’t exist yet. It’s on by default, and a later change applies only to data the source imports afterward. See [Create contacts from source data](/help/contact-settings#create-contacts-from-source-data). * **Check for an existing source.** If your workspace already has a source for the tool, open it and add datasets instead. See [Add datasets](/help/sources/manage-a-source#add-datasets). *** ## Create the source In the sidebar, select **Sources**. Below your workspace’s sources, select the integration you want to connect. Depending on the integration, you either sign in to the tool and approve access, or enter credentials such as an API key, access token, or key file. Choose the items to import, such as Gong teams or Slack channels, and an **Import period**, then select `Next`. See [Choose datasets](#choose-datasets) and [Import period](#import-period). On **Manage team access**, choose who can add this source’s data to their channels, then select `Next`. By default, everyone in the workspace can. See [Manage source access](/help/sources/source-access). On **Configure data import**, choose whether Dovetail auto-redacts the source’s data. Each redacted data point uses 1 more credit. Setup also asks whether Dovetail creates contacts from the source’s data. Decide before you create the source, because the first import starts right away. See [Redact data from sources](/help/blur-and-redact#redact-data-from-sources) and [Create contacts from source data](/help/contact-settings#create-contacts-from-source-data). Select `Create source`. The source appears on the Sources page, and its first import starts right away. *** ## Shared credentials A source connects with one set of credentials, and that connection serves the whole workspace. The source imports what that account can read in the datasets you choose. Users who add the source to a channel, and users who can see that channel, work with that data whether or not they have their own access to the tool. How the credentials are held depends on how the integration connects: | How you connect | Whose credentials the source uses | | :- | :- | | You sign in to the tool, for example Gong, Zendesk, or Intercom | The account of the user who connected the source. Imports use that user’s access in the tool. | | You enter an API key, token, or key file, for example for Freshdesk, Qualtrics, or App Store | A credential stored once for the whole workspace | | You enter a service user and its private key (Snowflake) | The Snowflake user owning the credentials | We recommend connecting with a dedicated service or integration account rather than a personal one. Give it read access to only the data you want to import, because the source can import anything that account can see in the datasets you choose. The user who connects a source, shown as **Connected by**, can manage it later alongside workspace admins. If the connection stops working, for example because access was revoked in the tool, a workspace admin or that user can reconnect it. See [Reconnect a source](/help/sources/manage-a-source#reconnect-a-source). Users who can manage a source can also see which account it uses, switch it to their own account, or remove the account without deleting any data. See [Change the connected account](/help/sources/manage-a-source#change-the-connected-account). *** ## Choose datasets A dataset is one container of data in the tool, such as a Gong team, a Slack channel, a Zendesk group, or a Qualtrics survey. When you create a source, you select which containers to bring in, and each item you choose becomes its own dataset. [Learn more about datasets →](/help/sources#datasets) Most pickers include an `All {items}` option, for example `All teams`. It selects every item the list shows when you create the source. Items created in the tool later aren’t added. Channels can only use the datasets a source imports. You can add more datasets to the source later. See [Add datasets](/help/sources/manage-a-source#add-datasets). *** ## Import period The **Import period** sets how much history a source imports when you create it: its initial backfill. The options are `Last 7 days`, `Last 30 days`, `Last 90 days`, and `Last 6 months`. The default is `Last 30 days`, and there’s no custom date range. * The period applies to every dataset you choose while creating the source. A dataset you add later usually gets its own import period. * You can’t change the period for datasets that already exist. See [Get older data](/help/sources/troubleshooting#get-older-data). * The first import starts as soon as you create the source. A large import can take a while to finish: monitor the import status by opening the source card. * Historical data uses credits in the same way as new data, so a longer period uses more credits. See [Credits and usage](/help/credits-and-usage). * Some tools limit how much history they return, whatever period you choose. For example, Google Play provides reviews from the last seven days only. * Channels have no date range of their own. A channel that adds a dataset gets every data point that dataset has imported. See [What a channel gets from its sources](/help/channels/channel-setup#what-a-channel-gets-from-its-sources). API and Zapier sources have no import period. They hold only data sent after they’re created. *** ## API and Zapier sources API and Zapier sources receive data that you send to Dovetail instead of fetching it from a tool, so they have no sign-in step and nothing to pick. 1. In the sidebar, select **Sources**, then select **API** or **Zapier**. 2. Enter a **Name** for the source’s first dataset. 3. Choose who can use the source, then select `Next`. 4. On **Configure data import**, choose whether Dovetail auto-redacts the data sent to the source. See [Redact data from sources](/help/blur-and-redact#redact-data-from-sources). 5. Select `Create source`. 6. For an API source, copy the dataset ID that the dialog shows. What you do next depends on the source: * **API:** Send data points to the dataset ID you copied, authenticated with a personal API key. You can find the dataset ID later in the source’s details. See [Send data to an API source](/integrations/dovetail-api#send-data-to-an-api-source). * **Zapier:** There’s nothing to copy. Build a Zap in Zapier and choose the source as its destination. See [Zapier](/integrations/zapier). Data sent before any channel uses the source is kept, and a channel that adds the source later gets it. To send data to more than one dataset, add datasets to the source. See [Add datasets](/help/sources/manage-a-source#add-datasets). *** ## After you create a source The new source appears at the top of the Sources page with its status. See [Source statuses](/help/sources/manage-a-source#source-statuses). After its first import, a source that imports from a tool syncs about every hour, even before a channel uses it. See [How data gets from a source to a channel](/help/sources#how-data-gets-from-a-source-to-a-channel). Next steps: * **Add the source to a channel.** See [Channel setup](/help/channels/channel-setup). * **Check its fields.** A source’s fields come from the data it imports, so review them after the first sync, especially NPS and CSAT scores from surveys. See [Source fields](/help/sources/source-fields). * **Review who can use it.** See [Manage source access](/help/sources/source-access). *** ## Request a source Only workspace admins can create sources. If you need a tool your workspace hasn’t connected yet, select it on the **Sources** page and send a request. Every workspace admin is notified. If you need specific data from the tool, such as certain Slack channels or Zendesk groups, let your admin know. If the tool already has a source that you can’t use, request access to it instead. See [Request access](/help/sources/source-access#request-access). *** ## Related guides What a source is, and how its data reaches channels. Check a source’s status, sync it, pause it, reconnect it, or add datasets. Choose who can add a source’s data to their channels. Create a channel from your sources and choose its datasets. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.